Remembering Sunday
by MelinaBee
Summary: He was pathetic. A fucking cliché; drowning himself in bourbon and trying not to think about what was happening to her His daughter could be dying and she's only five years old. Elena numbly processed the information, letting it sink in. Her heart ached and she could feel moisture in her sleep shrouded eyes.AU/AH (warning: deals with cancer)
1. Chapter 1

**AN: So I just thought of this story randomly and I really wanted to share it with you guys, give me feedback and maybe I'll update ;) but seriously, tell me what you think of it. This is probably one of the most complicated topics I've written about and I wanted to give it a shot. Plus there will be Delena! xx So here is chapter one:**

* * *

The sound of an alarm rang through Damon's ears and in an instant he was up and alert, out of the large king size bed in which he slept alone most nights and rubbing his eyes thoroughly as he pulled a plain white t-shirt and dark blue jeans from his closet, dressing himself quickly before closing the door of his room behind him an heading for the one situated just opposite his own.

Damon, twenty-seven and still young had been living in California for five years after moving out of his old home in the small unknown town of Mystic Falls, Virginia. He now lived in a huge apartment in LA, the city of Angels. It was pretty much his dream home with its massive bedrooms and their fancy en-suites, its state-of-the-art kitchen, the packed game room, the study filled to the brim with his favourite books and the modern living room complete with cream coloured couches and armchairs and the biggest flat-screen money could buy.

If most people saw him or his home they would figure that he was the happiest guy in the world, but that would make those people the shallowest fuckers on the planet. Because, if someone really looked at Damon, _really _looked at him they would be able to see the weariness and pain in his eyes, eyes that glistened crystalline ocean blue yet that held more emotion and age than anyone his age should have to deal with in their entire lifetimes.

His footsteps grew heavier as he approached the door covered in colourful stickers of horses and ponies, riding, galloping and grazing. He sighed as he reached it, finding that his arm suddenly felt like led and couldn't be raised to twist the door handle and let himself in. _Come on Damon, _he chastised himself, _you'll see her next weekend as well, get a grip and open the door man._ While he prepped himself he gathered the courage to open the door, walking in and closing it quickly before he turned around, forcing himself to smile though inside he was already breaking down.

* * *

Elena wiped her brow and ignored the shouts and wolf-whistles she'd been receiving for the past two hours, focusing on the drinks being ordered and the fact that her shift would finish in a few minutes. By looking at her anyone could tell she was miserable, and most people who did look at her already knew her, living in Mystic Falls meant that everybody knew each other, whether they liked it or not. Sometimes it was a lot less than the ideal lifestyle. Especially for Elena. She had dreamt of making it, living in a big city, at the least actually _living_. She didn't even know how it all went downhill, one moment she was graduating as valedictorian and the next she was getting rejected from all the schools she applied to and had to take a job at the grille as the bartender. It completely crushed her and her parents.

So five years later she had finally given up all hope on ever breaking free of the prison that is Mystic Falls. Grayson and Miranda were none too happy with this. They had been the ones who had drilled it into her head that she would be able to make something of herself, especially Grayson. His daughter was his pride and joy and it destroyed him every day to see her so miserable and stuck in this fucking rut, waiting on a second hand pick me up that they both knew would never come. But he was supportive where his wife was disappointed, he was still pushing where Elena and Miranda had given up, he was determined that his daughter would succeed, he _knew _she would, he just needed her to believe that as well.

"Shift's up Lena." Matt strolled up to her, his signature wash cloth draped over his shoulder, his blonde hair looking slightly greasy and grimy.

"Thanks Matt." Elena smiled, Matt was one of her oldest friends, and they'd even dated a while in junior year but broke up when he decided to pursue her best friend Caroline. Things didn't work out between those two either but despite it all Elena was able to salvage her friendship with Matt.

She slung her small bag containing just her phone and wallet over her shoulder and made her way out of the grille and home. Elena liked walking home; it gave her some time alone to think. Although, life at home was considerably quieter ever since Jeremy had left to go to an arts school in LA. She was proud of him, she really was, she just couldn't stop the twinge of jealously that bubbled up every time someone mentioned how proud they were of her brother or how well he had done for himself.

On her route home she always passed the Salvatore boarding house. The Salvatores were probably the most reclusive family in Mystic Falls, they kept themselves to themselves and nobody questioned it. That's why the whole 'Damon thing' was such a mystery. Five years ago Damon Salvatore, the elder brother of the two had left town abruptly. Nobody knew why, the only person he had told was his best friend Alaric Saltzman who left town only a few weeks after Damon himself. Some say he left because his father Giuseppe favoured Stefan, others say it was because of Katherine, his bitchy ex who had left him around five years ago and run away with Mason Lockwood, god knows where to but it was right after the two had returned from a private holiday together and they had been gone for almost a year, eleven months. It was common knowledge that Damon had been heartbroken when she left him. Personally Elena believed it was something entirely different. She didn't know what or why but she felt that Damon wouldn't just skip town on his mother like that. Teresa Salvatore had been utterly devastated when she found out Damon was gone. Elena remembered that day; she was walking home from work again when she had heard shouts coming from the boarding house. Giuseppe had been yelling at Teresa about Damon, she had caught certain phrases like, 'disgrace to the family', 'pathetic coward' and 'not my son'. It had been harsh and Teresa had been sobbing throughout the whole exchange. However, she had recently been taking quite regular vacations to California and Elena had a hunch that she was visiting Damon, even though no one but Giuseppe knew exactly where she had been going. The whole situation was extremely complicated and Elena knew she wasn't supposed to be meddling in other people's business yet she couldn't help but be intrigued by the Salvatores. She had always had a little thing for Damon. It didn't matter anymore though and was most definitely gone but she still felt curiosity towards him.

* * *

"_Hello? Damon?"_

"Yeah Ric it's me."

"_What's up? Thought you'd be with Cassidy."_

"Yeah Ric, about that, you need to come over."

"_Why? I mean if it's about Cassie sure, I'll come straight to yours but you have to explain."_

"No, come to the hospital we're over there, had to bring her in earlier. She needs you here."

"_What? Damon hold up, what happened?"_

"She has to stay here for the week, okay? Just like always remember? I'll fill you in properly when you get your ass over here. Hurry up, she's getting antsy."

Damon hung up the phone before Ric had the chance to ask further questions. His friend was a successful and extremely good doctor who specialised in a very helpful field. He couldn't begin to explain how grateful he was to Ric, his friend had left his whole life behind in Mystic Falls and joined him in LA, straight away getting into Med School and graduating with flying colours. All for Damon's sake. And of course Cassidy's. Everything Ric did for Damon he did for Cassie. Every move Damon made was for Cassie. She was his world.

"Excuse me, Mr Salvatore?" Damon whipped around as soon as he heard the assistant's annoying monotone voice calling his name.

"Yes, what?" He spoke quickly, taking a few big strides closer to her.

"Doctor Saltzman is waiting for you in the foyer; we will send someone to inform you when you can visit the ward."

"Thanks." Damon muttered, disappointment clear in his voice. He had been hoping she would tell him that he could go inside to say goodbye to Cassie, he wasn't exactly going to be able to talk to her properly for the remainder of the week as she'd be sedated again, just like every single week for the past five years.

He made his way to the foyer where sure enough Ric was waiting, his hands wrung together nervously. When he saw Damon he stood up.

"What's going on, they won't let me in yet!" He started fretting, pulling at his short hair, his eyes darting from Damon to the assistant standing in the doorway.

"Relax dude, they're just doing the normal check-up but Cassie started crying for you. She doesn't get why you aren't her doctor. I tried to calm her down but they made me leave so I called you down here."

"Oh, phew." Damon tried not to laugh at the look Ric had on his face. He looked so... _touched_ when Damon told him Cassie had been crying for him.

"Mr Salvatore, Doctor Saltzman!" Both men turned as they heard the familiar voice of Cassie's primary doctor, Doctor Freedman hurrying towards them. "I have some things to discuss with you."

* * *

"So, as you know Cassidy has been receiving chemotherapy for a while now." Doctor Freedman began, settling in his chair. Damon had been in this office way to many times for his liking. He just wanted to get this meeting over and done with so that he could go back to Cassie.

"Yes, what about it?" Ric asked worriedly.

"We are extremely happy to inform you that she is making excellent progress! Initial chemotherapy is designed to shrink the primary tumour and I must say that it's working very well!" If the smile on Damon's face had been just a millimetre bigger his face would have split. He let out a happy laugh as Ric started grinning like a fool and even giggling a little like a nutty schoolgirl or something.

"Now I don't want you two to get your hopes up but I must say things are looking pretty bright from here on." Doctor Freedman continued excitedly. "Oh, yes," He ruffled through his papers and seemed to remember something. "She will start losing hair soon, is that okay?" Damon's smile immediately dropped. He was fine with it, obviously but he just _knew_ she would be devastated. She loved her long chestnut locks and every morning she was with him he could remember her carefully brushing it before choosing a different hairpin everyday to clip it back as she hated tying it. He forced a pained smile.

"I'm sure she'll be fine." He lied. Ric gave him a sideways look that said, _dude she's not going to handle this well._ "Okay, bye Doc." He stood up abruptly and walked out. He was aching to see Cassie now. Sure, she'd be upset about her hair but truthfully he couldn't care less. She was getting better, making excellent progress. That's all that mattered to him. _Maybe, just maybe everything is going to turn around and get better. _The thought he'd been refusing to think slipped into his head. He knew having too much hope was a bad thing and looking too far ahead into the future was a worse thing, he'd been warned against it so many times but he couldn't help it this time.

His daughter was finally improving.


	2. Walls

**AN: Thank you so much for those who followed and made my story one of your favourites! It meant so much to me that you enjoyed my first chapter! And an even bigger thank you to those who reviewed, I had so much fun reading them! 3 So sorry for not posting earlier, I just got home yesterday from a trip so I've been kind of busy and had no time to write! Hopefully chapter two is alright, please give me feedback! Reviews are love! 3**

* * *

"So Elena, Jeremy said he's looking forward to your visit." Miranda Gilbert took a sip of her whiskey, directing her gaze at her daughter who sat opposite her.

"Hm?" Elena looked around absently. Miranda sighed and repeated what she had said, "Oh, yeah I'm looking forward to it too, I can't wait to see Jer again." She nodded at her mother.

"Yes, and Jenna is definitely looking forward to spending the summer with you, I'm sure she'll be her usual responsible self." Miranda replied and Elena almost snorted. Jenna, _responsible?_ But she was insanely glad it would be her crazy fun aunt accompanying her to California for the summer, she needed a getaway to let loose a little.

"Mom you do know that I'm twenty three right?" Elena rolled her eyes. Sometimes she was still treated like a seventeen year old and it annoyed her to no end. "But I'm sure Jenna will be extremely responsible with me."

"Good, good," Grayson trailed off, his eyes darting between the two women before speaking again. "And maybe while you're there you could take some writing courses? I've heard there are some really good ones for aspiring writers, a friend told me and-"

"Dad please don't." Elena cut Grayson off, shooting him a withering stare. "And please don't try to pretend you didn't research this." She rolled her eyes again and stared back down at her lasagne which suddenly seemed a lot less appetising than it had several seconds ago. Her dad had been trying to get her to start writing again for years. She didn't want to disappoint him, hell no! She just wanted him to understand that every time she said no she meant no. It wasn't like she hadn't tried writing. She tried out for the Mystic Falls Gazette but after she had been rejected and left alone as all of her friends left for fame and fortune she had found it harder and harder to find the right words to put in ink. It just didn't come naturally to her anymore like it used to. She missed it though, a lot. The freedom to just let everything out and _write. _ She still kept her journal, that was a part of her she could never give up yet she had noticed her entries getting less and less expressive and interesting, reading them back over now simply bored her.

"Elena honey it was just a suggestion, think about it sweetie, it would be the perfect opportunity for you to regain your passion. Just… just think about it for me, okay?" Grayson reached out and grabbed her hand, squeezing it reassuringly. Elena sighed and nodded, picking up her fork and twisting the pasta around it. She started to feel the air compressing around her and she stood up quickly.

"I'm going to go for a walk." She pushed back her chair suddenly in need for fresh air and alone time.

"Um… okay." Miranda looked taken aback.

"Sure sweetie, go clear your head." Grayson encouraged, Elena could tell from his expression that he felt bad about springing the writing thing on her.

Elena got up and went to slip her Ugg boots on.

"Take a coat!" Her mother screeched from the dining room. Elena rolled her eyes and quickly grabbed a coat before she hurried out, headed for the only place in the whole town where she felt sane.

* * *

Damon ran a hand through his hair in frustration, a habit he seemed to have picked up somewhere along the road. He'd been sitting at his desk for what seemed like hours to him yet in reality was only forty five minutes, engaged in the ultimate staring competition with the files in front of him. Sometimes he wished he could just get up and quit this goddamn awful job but it gave him a steady income and above all, some work to do to take his mind off of Cassie when he wasn't allowed to see her. He told himself that anyway, really he never stopped thinking about her. He groaned and pushed his chair back, his brain had decided to be on complete lockdown mode today and he just couldn't for the life of him concentrate on anything. Owning one of the most successful banks in Los Angeles really had its downsides. SBL, Salvatore Banks LTD had been just a small company when it first opened four years ago but it quickly expanded into something much more. Damon was happy about that but honestly it bored him to death most of the time.

He opened up one of the cabinets underneath the desk and shoved the papers in, not bothering to check whether they crumpled or not, he really didn't give a fuck. Instead he turned to his computer screen and opened up his email, hoping for some word from the one person he actually missed back home.

_**1 unread message**_

_**Teresa Salvatore **_

His face broke into a wide grin as he clicked on the message.

_Damon,_

_I was in your old room today; you don't want to know what I found. All your old magazines and everything scared me half to death. But also it reminded me of you. I miss you; I think I can get away soon enough, Stefan's going away this summer with some of his friends, to Chicago I think. Do you think I could come visit again? Does Cassidy remember me? Please update me on her condition. All my love and prayers go to her. And you of course. Be safe baby, give Alaric my love and if I can, I'll see you soon. _

Damon clicked the reply button almost as soon as he had finished reading it, wanting to let her know as soon as possible that she could, _should_ come to visit. Just the other day Cassie had been asking after her grandmother. The first part of the email made him crack up. His poor mother, finding all that. Must've traumatized her, he shook his head, chuckling slightly. He wasn't mean enough to correct her as they had been Ric's, poor guy got busted by his parents and gave his stash over to Damon for safekeeping. Damon himself hadn't needed any of that crap in his day. He was the sex-lord. He slept with almost the entire population of Mystic Falls High School, along with a handful of cougars here and there. He used to be a cocky arrogant stud who got whatever and whoever he wanted. He smirked. The laptop beeped and he closed his mom's email, a new unread one popping up. He glanced at the name of the sender then he looked again. He stared at the computer screen for another moment, trying to process what he was seeing. His blood went cold. His face paled and the smirk immediately dropped from his darkened face. He stood up, slamming the laptop screen down, forgetting about his mother's email and heading out of the office without bothering to take his coat.

* * *

"Cassidy, I think it's time to go back to sleep." A nurse dressed in a crisp white uniform entered the nursery, sporting a small pink dressing gown. She looked down at the small girl sitting on the floor by the window, a soft stuffed pony clutched in her small fists as she gazed outside. "Honey?" The nurse tried again when she got no response, "Come on, you need your rest." She attempted to grab the girl's hand but Cassidy jerked her arm away before she could even try to grasp it.

"No." Her voice was quiet and small yet determined. "Daddy will come soon." She continued gazing out of the window, her eyes fixed on the parking lot beneath them.

"Sweetie he'll come and see you when you're in bed okay?" The nurse tried again patiently.

"No." Cassidy's response was the same. "Daddy needs to come now and help me." She turned around to lock eyes with the nurse who stepped back in awe. The young girl's eyes were bright ocean blue and they glittered like a thousand small diamonds were embedded in them but there were tears shimmering in them and trailing down her pale cheeks. The mere sight was... heartbreaking to say the least.

"H-help you with what? Are you okay sweetie?"

"No." She simply shook her head. The nurse looked alarmed and immediately started calling for the doctor on her monitor.

"What happened Cassidy, can you tell me so that I can help you, honey?" She turned her attention back to Cassidy and tried to remain calm and collected for the crying girl that sat before her. All she got was a shake of her small head.

"Get daddy."

"Honey daddy's not here right now." Her tone was gentle and was meant to be comforting but it must have come out sounding the opposite as Cassidy's cries became more hysteric. The nurse took a deep breath as she started to kneel down but Cassidy shied away from her, pushing herself into a corner and clutching her stuffed toy harder. The nurse felt so helpless she herself felt like bursting into tears. At that though Doctor Freedman burst into the nursery, his movements jittery and panicky.

"Cassidy! Nurse, what happened?" The scared nurse turned to the doctor and started recounting what had happened.

"You have to call her father Doctor Freedman, she's extremely distressed right now." As if to prove her point Cassidy let out a small sob from the floor where she still sat, clutching her stuffed pony.

"I-I can't call her father right now, Mr Salvatore isn't allowed to visit during these hours." Doctor Freedman stuttered. He turned to look at his young patient who was still curled up in the corner of the room yet was staring at him with such confusion etched onto her angelic features that he immediately began struggling for some way to help her. "M-maybe, maybe I could call his friend, er, the one that works here, um... Doctor Saltzman?" He garbled out. He looked quickly from Cassidy to the nurse. "Leslie stay with her for a minute please, I'll fetch Doctor Saltzman." He hurried out, trotting manically down the corridor to the elevator. The nurse left helpless and alone with Cassidy sat down next to the girl and tried to comfort her, whispering soothing words that had no effect at all and all the while trying to figure out what got her so upset as she was refusing to divulge any information.

A few minutes later an anxious Doctor Saltzman ran in, looking alarmed. He looked around the room quickly until his eyes found what they were looking for.

"Cassie!" He yelled and dived for the girl who was already up and in his arms, crying onto his shoulder. He held the back of her head and her back to him and she wrapped her tiny legs around his waist. He shot a confused look at the nurse and Doctor Freedman over her shoulder but both looked just as perplexed as he felt. So he turned around and carried her back to her private ward, rubbing soothing circles on her back and whispering comforting promises in her ear as he went along.

* * *

Damon looked down at his buzzing phone. He sighed and set down his bourbon, shooing the bartender away with a flick of his wrist. The bar was mostly empty apart from himself, a couple of young women who hadn't stopped eyeing him and giggling the entire time he'd been here and a homeless man crouched over the table at the back, obviously trying not to draw any attention to himself. Damon had needed to get away from the office for a while.

"Yeah Ric?"

"_Damon? Damon!" _

"Yes it's me, get your head out of your ass." Damon rolled his eyes.

"_Okay you have to get to the hospital now." _Damon's eyes widened and he spluttered incoherently on his drink.

"What? Ric is Cassidy okay? What happened to her, I'm on my way, what happened!" He was sure he had already asked that but the panic in his chest had risen up to his mouth, spilling out in terrified words, all kinds of awful thoughts whirring through his mind.

"_I don't know! They called me to come up to the nursery and she was crying for you but she won't tell anyone what happened! I think it's pretty serious, she seems distraught!" _

"Where is she now?" He demanded, fumbling for his keys as the dropped some money on the counter top and dashed out of the bar with a pretty good idea as to what had happened at the hospital.


	3. Both Sides of the Story

**AN: Sorry for the long wait guys, I didn't really have much inspiration for this chapter but I got it done! I'm still not to pleased with it so please please please review what you think! Xx**

**Melina**

* * *

Damon smiled slightly as he tilted his head to the side, getting a better view of his sleeping daughter. He was drained, physically and emotionally, especially after his conversation with Cassidy (he had had to explain to her why she was losing hair and it physically hurt him to see the sadness that had caused her) and the email he had received earlier in the day. It had been from her, _her! _He couldn't for the life of him wonder why she would want to contact him now, after they had spent the last five years ignoring each other. It baffled him and angered him at the same time, along with a whole bundle of other complicated emotions he really didn't want to look into. Fuck, he hadn't even _read_ the goddamn email and here he was already acting like some hormonal teenager. And it fucking pissed him off. He didn't deserve this, what had he done in his life to deserve _her_? But then again, he glanced down at Cassidy whose breathing had become even and peaceful, if he hadn't met _her_ he would never have gotten his little Cassie, his world.  
He placed his head in his hands and sighed loudly, looking up and rubbing his eyes before slipping his phone out of his pocket. He didn't exactly want to read the email but he couldn't just _not_ read it either. He drew in a sharp breath and before he could change his mind he opened it.

_D,_

_I understand it would be quite strange for you to suddenly be hearing from me. I know that you probably hate me but I've sent this to reason with you. Your mother isn't the best at keeping secrets, Damon honey. Leaving her computer on and going shopping long enough for me to read all those messages you sent her? Big mess-up. But see now, I know where you are. LA huh? I don't know, I always imagined you as more of a New York kind of guy, can't you just imagine yourself living it up in Manhattan? But back to the point, I've bought a plane ticket, don't bother to decline my visit; by the time you read this I'll most probably have already landed in LAX. So I'll see you soon sweetie! I wonder if our daughter will be pleased to meet me. How old is she? Four? Five? Look forward to seeing her._

_Kisses! xx_

_Kat. _

"Fuck." Damon breathed, looking back down at Cassidy's sleeping form.

* * *

"Oh my god I can't believe we're here!" Caroline Forbes, Elena's best friend bounced up and down happily, attracting many annoyed looks from passersby. The girls stood by a Starbucks in LAX Airport waiting for Jenna to come bag from luggage collection. She had lost one of her bags somewhere along the way and some attendant was helping her track it down.

"Yes Caroline, we're here! Just please stop screaming." Elena gave her friend a pointed look, she too was thrilled that were finally on their getaway but she really hated getting too much attention from all the strangers which was proving to be a very unfortunate feeling as Caroline was used to being the centre of attention everywhere she went.

"Ugh, shut up Major Buzzkill!" Caroline playfully shoved Elena back and continued giggling.

"Hey!"

"This is just so awesome you know! We finally have a whole summer to just let loose and be crazy!" She shouted the last word out making the man walking out of the cafe, coffee in hand jump and drop his cup. Elena squealed as the scalding liquid met her uncovered toes. She scolded herself for wearing flip-flops. Nothing good ever came from wearing flip-flops.

"Oh god I'm sorry!" Caroline stammered, bending down to pick up the coffee cup.

"It's alright, don't bother." The man spoke with an English accent. Elena looked him up and down; he did look rather dapper all dressed up in a suit and tie. "Actually you might as well stay down there; I'm quite enjoying the view." He turned to Elena and winked before directing his gaze back to Caroline's ass in all its glory. Caroline huffed and stood up, straightening out her short shorts.

"Perv." She shot at him.

"Beautiful!" He shot back with a cheeky smile to accompany. Caroline's cheeks went slightly pink but she held the man's stare, not being one to back down.

"Klutz!" She commented, nodding down at the spilled coffee on the floor by their feet.

"It's Klaus actually." He reached out and took Caroline's hand in his, raising it up to his lips and placing a soft kiss in it. Elena, who was becoming increasing aware of sexual tension between the two was relieved when her aunt joined them.

"What did I miss?" She asked breathlessly, also noting the tension in the air. "Who's he?" She rudely pointed to Klaus who was in fact standing right in front of her.

"Klaus." He offered her his hand and kissed her knuckles just as he had done with Caroline. "And you might be?" Jenna tried to hide her blush as she introduced herself.

"Right well, I best be off. Business to attend to and that." Klaus cleared his throat and winked at Caroline.

"Wait, don't you want some more coffee?" She asked, sounding a little guilty.

"I think I could do without it actually sweetheart. Until next time." He grinned at the three of them as he took a step away. "Was a pleasure to meet you Caroline, Jenna and…?" He looked questioningly at Elena who mumbled her name. "Elena." She smiled at him.

"Yes, bye." Caroline rushed as she watched him depart.

"Wow Care, I think you have an admirer!" Elena poked Caroline in the side, grinning.

"Oh definitely, that guy was totally drooling over you!" Jenna agreed, nodding her head seriously.

"We'll duh!" Caroline giggled and twirled around. "Come on, who wouldn't want some of this?" She gestured down at her body and laughed.

* * *

"What do you fucking mean there's nothing we can do?" Damon hissed threateningly at Ric who seemed unperturbed by his best friend's rage.

"I mean just that! And if you wouldn't mind shutting up, we're in a children's ward for god's sake!" Damon looked like he was about to burst so Ric hurried on. "Look the best thing we can do is just ignore it until it goes away. How is Katherine supposed to know your address? She may not be able to find you! I mean, she doesn't even know about Cassie's… condition!" He reasoned.

"Of course she does! She read all of my mother's emails, I'm pretty sure that subject came up more than a few times!" Damon ran his hands through his hair, pulling at the raven black locks in frustration. "God, there is no way I'm letting that bitch near my daughter!" He swore, looking Ric in the eye. Alaric stepped back. He had never seen Damon so determined about anything before.

"Damon did it even occur to you that maybe she's here to put things right? I mean it's her daughter too." He tried gently.

"No." Damon turned around and began pacing. "No! She made the decision to run away with Mason Lockwood and leave Cassie and me behind! And anyway, this is _Katherine_ we're talking about Ric! I do not want that psychotic woman messing with Cassie's head!

"I guess you're right." Alaric sighed. But Damon didn't hear him. He was caught up in his memories, remembering the day his world crumbled down around him.

* * *

"_Mr Salvatore!" Damon turned and sure enough, there was the private helicopter his father had assured him would be there to pick them up. He promised the pilot he'd only be a couple more minutes and hurried back into the Salvatore lake house which seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, which obviously was very well suited to their needs because of this. He watched the pilot come in and out, collecting their bags for a while before he called his wife._

_"Kat?" He called up the stairs, "the copter's here!"_

_"Just a minute Damon!" He heard her shriek back. "Shit! Oh god she won't quit crying!" Recognising this as the start of another hissy fit Damon ran upstairs._

_"Here, I'll take her, you just go down, all our luggage is already loaded."_

_"Damon I can handle her." Katherine spoke in a steely tone as she looked him in the eyes._

_"And right now I can't handle you. Get in the helicopter. Now." His voice was determined and Katherine knew better than to go against him._

_"Fine." She swept off, placing her sunglasses over her eyes even though it was gloomy and dull outside._  
_Damon couldn't help but smile as he lifted his baby girl into his arms._

_"Hey there." He examined her face and she stared just as intently back at him. "Well you're a looker aren't you?" He said finally. She gargled in response, eliciting a laugh from him._  
_"Wonder if Kat will let me name you… or even keep you. We haven't really discussed it yet you know, but I'm sure once we get back she won't be ashamed, I mean how can she not want you around?" Damon spoke matter-of-factly spilling out his thoughts, feeling safe as she couldn't understand him anyway. She had stopped crying by now. Damon swept his thumb across her cheek, wiping the tears away. "Don't worry about Kat, she loves you, she really does. She's just… we she's just a bitch really." He sighed. "But I love you too you know, and I'm not a bitch, at least I don't think I am…"_

_"Damon! For god's sake get the fuck down here!" Damon jumped at Katherine's shrill voice cut through the atmosphere of serenity in the room, startling Damon. He stood up and cleared his throat loudly. _

_"Just coming!" He yelled down the stairs before turning back to the baby. "Now, I don't want you repeating anything I told you okay? Kat's already pretty worked up, I think it would be best if we just kept this to ourselves." The girl just stared back up at him with her baby blue eyes and he laughed, glad that she'd gotten his eyes. He wasn't going to pretend that they weren't amazing. "Come on." He stood up and cradled her in his arms as he walked down the stairs and out of the house, locking the door behind him._

* * *

Elena stood with Caroline in the ladies room at the airport, waiting for Jenna to finish up yet again. She couldn't help but wonder how much water her aunt had actually drank on that plane; she'd already gone three times!

"Lena!" Caroline nudged Elena and jerked her head in the direction of the woman who had just entered, not all too discretely. "Is that Katherine Peirce?" Elena whipped her head around, eyes widening as she did so. See, nothing had been heard of Katherine since she dumped Damon Salvatore and fled Mystic Falls with Mason Lockwood. It was all very scandalous. So what the hell was she doing in LA?

"I'm pretty sure that's her. Was she on our flight?"

"I don't know, what do think she's doing here? Without Mason?" Elena was about to reply when a frosty voice cut her off.

"You know girls, its considered very rude to talk about people behind their backs. Do I know you two?" Katherine Pierce stood before them in all her glory, denim miniskirt, high-heeled boots, studded black shirt and all. She looked more like she'd stepped out of a fashion catalogue rather than off a plane.

"Um, yes actually. Maybe. We, uh, we used to-"

"Jenna?" Katherine shoved past Elena who stopped talking and turned to see Katherine attack her aunt in a hug which Jenna didn't return, content with merely standing there with a perplexed expression on her face. They used to be in the same class at school, Elena remembered suddenly, and Jenna hadn't particularly liked Katherine. If she remembered correctly, it was, to quote Jenna, because "the skank bitch made at pass at her man." The 'man' in the equation obviously being Alaric, Jenna's ex. They had been madly in love and Elena was kept in the dark about what happened between them. All she knew is that a few days later, Ric left.

"K-Katherine? What are you doing here?" Jenna tried to sound pleased but it came out sounding a little more pained. Katherine pulled away, grinning brightly at Jenna.

"That's all you have to ask? No 'how are you', 'where have you been', 'you okay'? None of that crap, really?"

Jenna shrugged, "Well, you know me."

"Actually, it's been _so_ long since we've seen each other, you could be a totally different person now!" Katherine giggled while Jenna remained stony faced.

"True and I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt if you explain to me why you are here." She smiled through gritted teeth. Katherine's smile faltered a little.

"Well I'm here to see Damon of course." She rolled her eyes like it was obvious. Jenna's eyes became round and she blinked, trying to see whether Katherine was lying or not, though with this woman it was hard to tell.

"Damon's here?" Caroline piped up before Jenna could get a word it. "Damon _Salvatore_?"

"What other Damon would I be here to see?" Katherine rolled her eyes again as she walked over to the mirrors and set down her makeup bag, drawing out her eyeliner and setting to work.

"How did you know he was here? Has he been here the whole time? Is-"

"Jenna!" Katherine swivelled round impatiently and Jenna immediately stopped quick-firing questions at her. "I read his emails to him mom, okay and yes, he's been here in LA the whole time." She turned her attention back to her reflection, puffing up her hair, staring at herself for a moment, frowning and grabbing some mascara from the bag.

Elena who had been silent through most of the exchange suddenly spoke, "So, why are you here to see him anyway? I thought you guys broke up." Katherine turned to her, a devilish smile playing across her features.

"My dear sweet child," She began as she packed all her cosmetics away, ignoring the sharp look Elena shot at her, "It's been _so _long since I've seen the two of them. I can't ignore them forever; after all, they are _family_." And with that she walked out, swaying her hips as she strutted from the scene.


	4. Break Your Little Heart

**Disclaimer: I don't own TVD or All Time Low (the band who wrote the song the lyrics are from) **

**AN: Thank you all so much for the responses! **** I loved reading the reviews and thanks for all the follows! I wasn't too sure about that last chapter though... hopefully this one will be better **** I know Damon seems really OOC but in later chapters I'll show more of his past in Mystic Falls, AND **_**finally **_**Damon and Elena will meet in this chapter! Hope you enjoy reading it! Reviews are love!**

* * *

Wide awake, my mistake, so predictable

You were fake, I was great, nothing personal

I'm walking, who's laughing now?

A party queen, cause a scene, so ridiculous

Little dress, maybe less, so conspicuous

You're falling, who's crashing now?

* * *

Alaric's head shot up as he heard the cafe door open but he dropped it again when he realised it wasn't her. He knew he shouldn't be doing this, shouldn't be going behind Damon's back to do this, but it was the only way. He needed to talk to Katherine before she barged into Damon's life and sent him off the rails. Alaric couldn't afford for that to happen, for Cassie's sake. Damon had her to look after; he couldn't deal with Katherine at the same time. Cassie needed him right now and Katherine wasn't about to just come in and mess everything up again.  
The door opened again and this time it was her, tall, high heeled, head held up, dressed like a wannabe cover girl and sporting her trademark sunglasses. She pushed them down the bridge of her nose slightly so that her large doe eyes could search the room, landing on Alaric all too soon for his liking. He felt his blood boil and he fought the urge to walk out and ignore her waving. The last time he had seen her was after she had caused him to break up with his long time girlfriend Jenna Sommers.

"Ric!" She squealed, making her way towards him as fast as she could without tripping over her heels. "Oh my god it's you!" She jumped a little as she engulfed him in a hug which he was too confused to return. What had happened to the ice cold bitch he remembered? This girl was all squeaks and giggles, this girl was most definitely _not_ Katherine Pierce.

"Katherine?" He didn't bother to hide the incredulity in his voice.

"Well duh!" She began giggling again. He swore that if he ever went mad, the sound of those giggles would be what did it. "Don't you recognise me?" She pouted and shoved him playfully, causing him to snap back to his senses. He shook his head a little.

"Of-of course. Yes. Um..." Ric sighed, he was never good with small talk. "Look Katherine, why the hell are you here?" He cut right to the chase, revelling in the fact that Katherine's smiley facade faltered, if just for a second.

"I'm here to see my husband." She gave him a condescending look. "Is that against your laws here or what?" He could tell she was being sarcastic but the fake stupidity? Really?

"_Ex_-husband. And he doesn't want to see you." He said firmly, standing his ground as she leered at him.

"Why not? He left me for you?" She rolled her eyes. Ric remained stony faced.

"Wrong again. _You _left_ him and _yourdaughterfor Mason Lockwood, I don't think he took too kindly to having to deal with everything alone."

"But he wasn't alone, he had you Saint Alaric."

_Oh joy,_ Ric thought dryly. _The bitch is back._

"How can you even stand there and defend yourself when you know everything they've been going through?" He shot her a disgusted look, not physically being able to fathom that she was such a bitch she wouldn't even _care_ about Cassie, let alone even mention her.

But now it was Katherine's turn to look confused.

"What are you talking about? Living the dream in LA is that bad?"

"Don't even pretend you don't know Katherine, you read the emails to Damon's mom, what I don't get is how you can be so _unbelievably self-centred_ that-"

"Whoa, okay. I'm just going stop you there Ric honey." She held up a finger and pressed it to his lips, silencing him. He shoved her hand away from him and she quickly withdrew it in defeat. "Look, I never read any emails."

"What? How the hell did you know where he was then? How did you-"

"Shut up!" Katherine threw her hands into the air over-dramatically. "If you keep talking how do expect me to explain?" When Ric only replied with a stony look she took a deep breath. "Basically, I heard Damon's mom blabbing to some girl who lives down the road about how she was keeping in touch with Damon. Naturally, I got curious so I used the email thing as an excuse."

"So then how did you-"

"I know a guy okay!"

"Who-"

"It doesn't matter!" She shrieked before remembering she standing in the middle of a relatively quiet cafe and a few people had turned their heads to stare her down. She shot them hasty smiles before sitting herself down opposite Ric. "What matters is that I found out Damon was living here, I had the perfect alibi, I will find him and you are not going to breathe a word about this conversation." Ric scoffed.

"Likely." He rolled his eyes. "You really expect me to keep quiet?"

"I do."

"And what makes you so sure I will?"

"Oh honey, I'm sure you would hate for me to ruin things with _dear_ Jenna _again _right?"

Ric gaped. "That shut you up didn't it?" Katherine laughed. "You make sure you stay that way. See you around." She pushed her chair back, got up, winked at him, pushed her sunglasses back onto her eyes and strutted away, stopping at the door to blow him a kiss.

"_Fuck"_. He muttered to himself.

* * *

"Promise you'll come tomorrow?"

"Do I have to?"

"Daddy!"

"Oh come on, you know I could never let you down! 'Course I'll be there!" Damon scooped Cassie off her bed and planted a sloppy kiss on her forehead making her pull a face. "And then, day after tomorrow you can come home again!" Cassie grinned.

"I love the weekend." She commented, "It's the only fun time ever." She threw Damon a pointed look.

"Hey don't look at me! I'm not the one sucking all the fun out of everything, I'm the one who _brings_ the fun." He winked at her and she giggled.

"Yeah, I think it's Doctor Freedman who does the sucking." Damon snorted at his daughter's comment.

"Oh yes, I'm sure you're right." He agreed as she nodded wisely.

"Well duh. I'm always right." She smiled cockily, causing Damon to raise his eyebrows in mock disbelief.

"Is that so Mini Salvatore?"

"Yup." She nodded.

"So do you think I could make you laugh?" He asked, eyes gleaming.

"Nope." She looked up at him as she popped the 'p'.

"Well _that_ was a very dangerous thing to say."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah."

"Why?"

"Because of this." Damon leapt onto the bed and grabbed his daughter, tickling her sides as she shrieked in glee. "Surrender!" He cried out.

"Okay, okay you win!" Cassie laughed as she attempted to push Damon away from her. He rolled onto his side and sat up, brining Cassie with him to sit in his lap as he did so. They stayed silent for a few moments but Damon could tell that Cassie was struggling to say something. He waited patiently and sure enough she snuggled further into his chest and spoke.

"Daddy?"

"Mm-hm?"

"Is _all_ of my hair going to fall off?"

Damon sighed. "Probably."

Cassie sniffled and Damon instinctively wrapped his arms tighter around her.

"Will I get ugly?"

"Now Cassidy Salvatore, I think you know the answer to that one." Damon said condescendingly.

"I will?" She sounded so close to tears.

Damon gently pushed her off his lap and onto the bed, then he leant down so that he was face to face with her. "Look at me," He directed her face to his, their ocean blue eyes locking together. "You are beautiful, okay? And you always will be." She looked away again.

"All the other girls are prettier than me though." She began to fiddle with the buttons on her cardigan, avoiding eye contact with Damon.

"Nah," He said casually, leaning back on the headboard. "They aren't pretty."

"No?"

"Nope, in my opinion, which by the way is the only opinion that matters, you're the prettiest girl _ever_."

"Ever?"

"_Ever_."

"Oka-"

"Mr Salvatore, I'm afraid it's time for you to leave now." A nurse popped her head into the room, addressing Damon who groaned and stood up.

"Bye daddy." He looked down at Cassie who was already looking far too worn out than she should be. Worry flooded through him just like it did every single second of every single day but he hid it, for her sake.

"Bye Cassie." He leaned down and kissed her forehead again, bidding her goodnight.

"See you tomorrow?"

"I promised didn't I?"

"I love you daddy."

"Love you always Cassie."

* * *

Elena certainly felt dressed-down. Standing next to Caroline in her too-short glittering turquoise dress and Jenna in her black sequined blouse and black skirt she felt all too self-conscious in her own skinny jeans and long-sleeved t-shirt.

"You could have at least dressed up a _little." _Caroline whined.

"Hey! I let you do my makeup didn't I?" Elena retorted. "Plus, we're just going out for a drink, I don't need to dress up for that."

"Guys, shut up." Jenna walked past them and into the bar. She had been pretty moody since their encounter with Katherine yesterday. Elena knew there was some bad blood between those two but she didn't know any of the details on the scandals that had happened. All she knew was that Jenna's class from Mystic Falls High were the most legendary class in the history of the school. Ten times as much scandal and gossip occurred between only that group of people than anyone else in the school. But then again, how could it not? A class with Jenna, Katherine, Alaric, Damon Salvatore and Mason Lockwood was bound to be a class to remember.

"Come on." Caroline grabbed her hand and pulled her inside. Elena moved to join Jenna at the booth her aunt was seated in but Caroline was clutching her arm with a death grip.

"Um... Care? Wanna let go?" Caroline ignored her, instead choosing to poke her in the ribs.

"Elena look! It's him!" Elena turned, eyes widening in disbelief.

"Damon Salvatore? So he _is_ here!" He was sitting at the bar, nursing a glass of bourbon and looking pretty miserable.

"Yeah... he looks good, like _good_." Caroline commented.

"Care!"

"What? I'd totally tap that!"

"So you're more interested in how he looks than why he's even here to begin with? And to me he looks more depressed than anything."

"Well sorry, it's the first thing I notice! I can't help it! I'm a woman, I have needs!"

"Oh god." Elena pretended to be condescending but truthfully he _did_ look good and it was the first thing she had thought of when she had seen him as well. She made her way over to Jenna, Caroline huffing behind her.

"Hey Jenna," she slid next to her and pointed over to the bar. "Damon's here. Wanna say hi?"

Jenna looked taken aback. "Excuse me?"

In response Caroline squealed "Sitting at the bar!"

"Oh god that _is_ Damon." Jenna stared at him for a moment, processing the fact that he was really there. "I mean Katherine said he was here but I didn't expect to run into him! If anything I thought she was lying, wouldn't put it past her."

"Didn't you two used to be like really good friends?" Caroline piped up curiously.

"Yeah," Jenna said almost wistfully, "Well his best friend was always Ric but I used to hang around with them a lot, Ric and I were together for a _really _long time, Damon and I became pretty close as well." She paused. "I should go and say hi shouldn't I?"

"Yes!" Elena and Caroline said at the same time.

"Okay, okay!" Jenna smiled,. She scooted off her seat and nervously made her way over to Damon, whom she hadn't seen nor heard from in five years. She reached the bar and cleared her throat, casting and apprehensive look to Elena and Caroline before reaching out to tap Damon on his shoulder. He turned around slowly, his face the picture sadness. Jenna, who had been expecting the fun, carefree, witty boy she remembered, took a step back in awe.

"Jenna?"

"D-Damon."

"Wha-what are you doing here?" He stood up abruptly, scared shitless at this reminder of his former life standing before him. "You have to go... I have to go." He tried to leave but he had already drowned himself in a few too many glasses of bourbon and stumbled. Jenna grabbed his arm.

"Okay, I think you need to sit down, sober up and tell me what the fuck happened to you, now."

"N-no." Damon stuttered but still spoke firmly.

"Well too bad, I wasn't asking." She steered him back to her booth, letting him lean on her as he wasn't able to control his own weight. Damon kept groaning pleas but Jenna plopped him down next to her regardless.

"Who're they?" He nodded rudely at Elena and Caroline.

"This is my niece Elena and her friend Caroline." Jenna introduced them. Elena gave him a small smile, too shy for anything else whereas Caroline shot him a Cheshire cat-like grin and stuck out her hand. He looked at it for a moment then looked back up at her questioningly. She silently withdrew it, a pink blush creeping up her cheeks.

"Don't mind him, he's wasted." Jenna rolled her eyes. She turned back to Damon. "Damon what are you doing here?" She finally asked. He looked at her and opened his mouth, and then sounding slightly slurred he murmured,

"If I tell you that I'd have to kill you."

"Damon I'm serious! Nobody's seen or heard from you in-" She was interrupted by the ring of a cell-phone.

"Scuse me ladies, I need to take this." Damon grinned toothily at the three of them before taking his call, not bothering to move out of earshot.

"He-hey." He hiccupped.

_Pause_

"I'm at the bar."

_Pause_

"Well obviously I came from the hospital." He pressed the phone to his chest and muttered to Jenna "He's stupid." Lifting the phone back to his ear he suddenly caught Elena's eye and winked. She looked away quickly to hide the flush in her cheeks. Damon was talking into the phone again, very loudly for that matter.

"God, if you think it's that dangerous just come here yourself."

_Pause _

"Hey I can drive perfectly f-fine thank you very m-much."

_Pause_. By now the girls could hear the shouts from the other line.  
"I know I have to go back tomorrow... ye-yes. Okay yeah I get it... fine just don't let me talk." He pouted.

_Pause_

"You don't need to come and _pick me up!" _Damon suddenly shouted, funnily enough not attracting that many looks from the other customers. "I'm not a kid!" He faltered. "But-n-no... just... _ugh _fine. But ... wait what do you mean you're outside the bar?"

"I mean I'm right here Damon, hang up the damn phone!" Alaric called from the door. He stormed towards them. "Come on, you can't afford to have another hango-" He stopped in his tracks. His eyes darted from Jenna to Damon to Caroline to Elena then back to Jenna. "Jenna?" He looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"Ric." Jenna had stood up and was staring at Ric with the same expression on her face. Elena and Caroline shifted uncomfortably in their seats, not quite sure what they were supposed to do. Damon strangely seemed scared and seemed to have sobered up unbelievably fast.

"What's happening? Why are you here?" He asked quickly.

"Um, I, well we came to this bar and we saw Damon and I thought I'd say hi and..."

"Right. Um..." Ric scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Well... we-uh we need to get uh, get going then." He broke eye contact with Jenna to give Elena and Caroline an unconvincing half-smile. "It was... it was nice seeing you Jenna. Damon." He gestured to the door and Damon stood up.

"Bye Jenna, Caroline... Elena." The way he drew out her name made Elena shiver. His startling blue eyes bore into her own until he turned away abruptly and followed Ric out.

The girls sat in silence for a few minutes, contemplating what had just happened. They had found the infamous Damon Salvatore drunk out of his mind in a random bar in LA, apparently coming from a hospital and who should come to pick him up but Jenna's ex-boyfriend?

"Jenna?" Elena spoke softly, placing her hand on her aunt's shoulder. Jenna brushed it off and stood up.

"Can we go back to the hotel?" She asked pleadingly.

"Of course." Elena and Caroline immediately got up to leave.

* * *

"You shouldn't have gone to the bar." Ric didn't even look at him as he drove.

"I was depressed okay!" Damon cried out. "Cassie, she just... I don't know how she's going deal with any of this! Fuck, I don't even know how I'm going deal with any of this! I just... I don't know, I just needed it to go away for a while."

"Fine."

Damon sighed and turned to look out of the window. He watched the city lights flash by in a blur and he thought of Cassie. He thought of how much he hated life for doing this to her. For doing this to his baby girl. He watched everything flash past in the outside world and he thought of Cassie, cooped up in a hospital for god knows how long, doctors running tests on her twenty-four seven, going through chemotherapy... he thought of his daughter and he cursed all the miserable fuckers out there with the happy and easy lives that Cassie deserved.

* * *

**AN: Chapter four done! What did you think? Please leave a review! Xx Melina**


	5. Baby Blue Eyes

**AN: Thanks so much the feedback I got for the last chapter! So, this is the first time (apart from the language, lol) that the M rating fully applies, no, it's not a full on smut and no it's not DE *cough* yet *cough* but the storyline with what happens is very important to the whole plot. It's not graphic at all and it's extremely short but yeah, there will definitely be some more M rated stuff in later chapters! Xx**

* * *

_Baby, baby blue eyes  
Stay with me by my side  
Till the morning  
Through the night_

_-Baby Blue Eyes by A Rocket to the Moon_

* * *

"Katherine." A voice from behind startled Katherine and she jumped, her hand flying to her heart dramatically.

"God dammit don't sneak up on me!" She yelled at the man standing calmly in the doorway.

"I'll do whatever I want to do." He spoke sternly. Katherine gulped and nodded.

"So you have word on where I can find my husband?" She asked apprehensively.

"Of course I do, I called you here didn't I?" He gestured to the lavish hotel suite.

"Yes… so, can you tell me?" She prompted him.

"I could. But I want something from you first." He cocked his head to the side and grinned.

"What could you want from me?" She arched an eyebrow in question. "I've already payed you the amount you requested."

"Undress." He commanded. "Here, now. Take your clothes off."

"Excuse me?" Katherine's eyes widened.

"Do you really need me to repeat what I said Katherine dear?" The man stalked forward, reminding Katherine of a lion stalking it's prey.

"But, wait so you want me to have sex with you in exchange for information on my family?" He laughed at her shocked expression.

"Did you really expect anything more from me? Now undress."

"I shouldn't have to do this! I gave you the money! Why-"

_Slap._

He struck her across the face. Her hand flew to her red cheek, gaping at him.

"I sad take your clothes off." He repeated slow and dangerously, his eyes gleaming. "Unless you want me to spread the word about what happened to a certain Mason Lockwood one holiday in Russia…?"

Her eyes widened in shock. "How do you know… who told you?" Her face paled and for once it portrayed real fear.

"That doesn't really matter. What matters is that now you know that I have the power and I'm the one calling the shots. Now undress for me." He raised his hand threateningly. She whimpered and complied, removing her clothes until she was stripped down to her underwear.

"Those can go as well." He smirked. She shot him a disgusted look as she undid the clasp of her bra, exposing her breasts. "And the panties, go on." He urged her on with a sick smile. She slipped them off, standing before him fully naked. He looked her up and down appreciatively.

"You're not half bad."

"I hate you." She whispered.

"Get on the bed." He whispered back. "I'm going to fuck you hard and when I'm satisfied with you, you can have your pussy husband." He said coldly, shoving her towards the bed roughly. Wasting no time he unzipped his jeans, pulled them down a bit, taking his boxers with him and freed himself. He gazed down at her as she pleaded him with her eyes. It didn't have any effect on him though. He grabbed her sides and flipped her over, immediately forcing himself inside of her. She buried her face in the pillow to muffle her screams and tried her hardest not to cry.

* * *

Breathing in the fresh air Damon let out a contented sigh. Cassie was finally his and his only for the weekend. He realized long ago that his life mainly consisted of waiting. All throughout the week he would wait and then on the weekend the time would come when he could finally spend some quality time with his daughter, outside the confinement of the hospital and in the freeness and simplicity of a park. But then the weekend would end and he would go back to waiting. Right now though he was intent upon enjoying this time while it lasted. They almost seemed like a normal family, a family without all the baggage that had been thrust upon them. Almost.

"Daddy I'm tired." Cassie yawned and reached up for Damon's hand. He instead bent down and picked her up with ease, plopping her on his shoulders.

"Do you wanna go home? Do you need to sleep?" He asked worriedly, turning around to walk back in the direction they came from.

"Can we get ice cream first?" Cassidy tugged on Damon's ear playfully. "Pleeeease?"

"But we just had pizza!" Damon laughed. Cassie just tugged on his ear again. "Okay, okay!" He laughed, removing her hand. "But promise that you'll eat it slowly and if it gets too cold you just stop eating, alright?"

"Okay." She agreed.

"That's my girl." He smiled. "Trust me, brain-freezes are _not _good_." _He muttered to himself.

* * *

Elena was just enjoying an innocent walk in the park when she heard him. Heard his voice. She hadn't meant to follow him, she was no stalker but what could she say? Curiosity killed the cat. She had been in line for ice cream when he had joined the queue. At first she thought it wasn't him. For one thing, he was totally sober, for another he was with a girl. Not a _girl_ girl but a little girl who couldn't be more than five years old yet seemed to be a pretty big chatterbox. And there was no denying she was Damon's own, the electric blue eyes and the smile that Elena remembered from when she was a teenager in Mystic Falls were exactly the same. The sense of accomplishment she had felt the other night when they found him had dissipated, leaving only the burning need for answers. But this had nothing to do with her, Damon had nothing to do with her! Sure, she used to like him, _really _like him back in Mystic Falls but then he had left and she had moved on. He probably didn't even remember her. God, here she was acting like some stupid, nervous teenager. If she really wanted answers she should just go up and talk to him. She shook her head quickly and dipped out of the line, all previous fantasies about ice cream long gone.

"Excuse me? Um… Damon?" The reaction she got was instant. His head whipped around so fast she was afraid the child on his shoulders would fall off and his eyes widened, staring at her incredulously.

"Shit." He mumbled. Elena was taken aback. That wasn't exactly the impression she had been hoping on making. The girl just giggled at his language which surprised Elena a lot more. "Um, look Elena," _So he does remember me!_ Elena did a little happy dance in her head before she returned to reality. "... really can't talk right now, I'll see you around, maybe." He was saying.

"Why?" She asked, raising her eyebrows, feeling a lot more confident now that she was actually talking to him.

"Cassie I think we have some ice cream at home, sound good?" He ignored Elena, looking up at the girl on his shoulders, Cassie.

"Can we stay and talk to her?" Cassie whispered very audibly in Damon's ear, "She's pretty." Elena felt her cheeks turn pink and she looked away, suddenly feeling quite self-conscious.

"Yes Cassie, she's _very_ pretty but I think you need to rest now." If Elena had been blushing a moment ago she certainly was now. She wasn't sure what she should say so she kept quiet, waiting for one of the two to speak to her again.

"But she knows your name." Cassie frowned. "Isn't she one of your friends?" Damon sighed.

"She's one of my _very_ old friends Cass, maybe you two could talk another time." He seemed frantic to escape Elena noted, feeling slightly hurt at this.

"So you do remember me then?" She asked in spite of herself. He looked at her with one of those '_well duh'_ kind of looks.

"Yeah, you were one of Stefan's friends, right? You used to come round a lot." That was true, she had been one of Stefan's best friends, _had _being the key word there. Elena could remember what had happened as though it had been but yesterday.

* * *

"_Hey Stef." Elena knocked on Stefan's open bedroom door. He got up off the bed and scrutinized her for a moment._

"_What are you doing here Lena?" His tone was bored and implied that he wanted to be left alone. _

"_Your mom let me in. I thought you might want some company." She shrugged. He nodded and gestured for her to come in. She breathed out heavily. "How're you holding up?" _

_He snorted. "You make it sound like someone died."_

"_I'm serious Stefan, you haven't been replying to anyone's texts or calls. Bonnie, Care, Matt and Tyler are all worried about you. And before you ask, yes Matt and Tyler did actually say that." She grinned, attempting to lighten the mood but failing miserably. _

"_Did it ever occur to you that I didn't reply because I wanted to be alone?" He sneered. _

"_I know it hurts but if you let us in we could help." _

"_Help? For fuck's sake Elena I don't need help!" He shouted. "You don't understand, okay! None of you understand!" He ran his hands through his hair irritably. "Fuck." _

"_Understand what? Maybe if you tell us then we will understand." Elena reasoned, perching next to him on the bed and mimicking his hunched position._

"_That's just the thing though Lena; I can't tell anyone, ever." _

"_I know Damon must have left for a good reason, he wouldn't have otherwise."_

"_I know he left for a fucking good reason! It just bothers me how fucked up the reason is!" Stefan roared. _

"_Calm down!" She cried, "It's not like he's disappeared off the face of the earth!"_

"_But he has!" Stefan shouted back. "He has disappeared off the face of the earth Elena! And it's not just him that's gone!" _

"_You and Katherine weren't even that close!" Elena said exasperatedly. _

"_You know what Elena, I can't deal with this right now okay?" He took a deep breath. "Some friends are coming round in a bit and we're going to Chicago. I need you to get out of here." _

"_Chicago?" Elena screamed. "Why didn't you tell us?" _

"_God Elena just go!" He looked livid. "You don't understand anything and I don't want to have to deal with it anymore. Go away. And don't come back."_

"_Stefan! Why are you acting like this?" _

"_Elena I said go!"_

"_WHY?"_

"_Because we aren't friends anymore. I just want to go, I don't want anything to do with you and your merry little bunch of failures. Get. Out." He spoke venomously and the words pierced Elena's heart. So she did. She got out. And she never heard from Stefan again, apart from the unrequested updates Mrs Salvatore would sometimes give her._

* * *

"Um yeah, yes I was one of Stefan's friends. You didn't seem to recognise me the other night though." She shook herself slightly, recovering from her trip down memory lane.

"I was wasted!" He scoffed.

"What does wasted mean?" Cassie piped up.

"Drunk." Damon replied. It baffled Elena how abrupt he was with her.

"Elena it was great seeing you and all but I really have to go." He locked gazes with her and for moment she was lost in the deep blue pools that reflected sadness and weariness. And age. While he looked perfectly young and healthy, his eyes told a different story.

"Wait!" She blurted out before she could stop herself. "You-you can't just expect me to walk away. Damon I... I know it's none of my business but maybe if you told me what happened five years ago," Her gaze flitted from Cassie back to him, "maybe I could help you?" She didn't want to be too direct and just ask him why he had a daughter or who the mother was or any of the questions she wanted so badly to ask.

He looked at her for a while without saying anything, she almost thought he was going to agree.

"Not likely." He said flatly. "Sorry Elena but _I_ don't need help, especially from you." He turned his back on her and purposefully walked away, Cassie bobbing up and down on his shoulders.

"Bye Lena!" She squealed. Elena gave her a halfhearted smile and waved, now more confused and hurt than ever.

* * *

"Cassie?" Damon padded into her room, taking note of the crayons and paper spread over the floor and grinning briefly. She was asleep. Not having the heart to wake her, he scooped her up, blanket and all, and carried her to the car.

As he drove to the hospital he felt the all too familiar rage appear. The rage he felt toward whatever god was messing up his and his daughter's life. He had gotten a call from Doctor Freedman who had been blabbing about some tests they had run on Cassie. Apparently the results were in and he had to bring Cassie back and discuss the tests with that fucking doctor. He wasn't even told whether the results were good or bad and if that little fucker hadn't been talking so damn fast he might have been able to figure it out.

* * *

_Finally. _Katherine had finally found them. She didn't even feel weird about following them to the hospital. She was filled with questions but decided she should keep her presence unknown for now. She watched him park up and get out. He looked good. More mature but still as dashing. She was impressed. She was about to stalk up to him, smiling at the thought of his shock but she stopped in her tracks when he pulled bundle of blankets from the passenger seat and proceeded to run into the hospital. Her breath hitched in her throat. That must be her baby. Her baby being rushed into a hospital. She didn't think twice, she had to follow them further.

She watched from the wings a nurse took her daughter off a reluctant Damon and carried her off to god knows where. Damon was then approached by a doctor. She secured her sunglasses and scarf and walked closer in order to hear snippets of their conversation.

"... better tell me what the hell is happening!" Damon 's raised voice was quite easy to hear but she had to strain her ears in order to hear the Doctor's reply. Cursing, she moved closer.

"Mr Salvatore... I... I'm sorry to tell you this, but... Cassidy's results came back and... the tumour is fighting back. " She froze and saw Damon stiffen. _Tumour? As in cancer?_ "She won't be allowed to leave the hospital anymore on the weekends, she must be under care at all times. And..."

She heard Damon's voice, broken and cracked. "And?" It was barely a whisper.

"And at this point... we really can't be sure if she'll make it." The doctor tried to reach out for Damon but he turned around, running a hand through his raven locks. She stared at the single tear track running down his cheek. His bloodshot eyes met hers. She slowly pulled her sunglasses off.

"Katherine?" He croaked.

* * *

**AN: Ok wow. I cried writing that last part. This was a powerful chapter for me to write, sorry if it's not that good :p Please review the chapter, and if you have any suggestions for the next one feel free to voice them. And DE finally officially met! YAY! But DK also met after a long time, I've drafted the next chapter and we'll definitely have a DK and maybe a DE conversation. Emotional Damon is hard to write :p oh and, guess who the man in the beginning with Katherine was? You can leave your guesses in the reviews and see if you're right when he comes up again! Xx Melina**


	6. A Walking Travesty

**AN: So, I changed my mind, there won't be any DK this chapter but it is a Damon- centric chapter and will feature some heavy DE. This story really means a lot to me and the theme of it is very personal but I'm so happy and grateful to the amazing reviews I've gotten, and thanks to everyone who followed and favourite! Please leave your reviews on this chapter, song credits go to All Time Low. I own nothing.**

* * *

_My lungs gave out_

_As I faced the crowd_

_I think that keeping this up could be dangerous_

_I'm flesh and bone_

_I'm a rolling stone_

_And the experts say I'm delirious_

_Therapy-All Time Low_

* * *

Falling. That's what it felt like. Falling into a deep pit. But the pit didn't have an ending; it didn't have a bottom that would just end the constant fear of landing. You just kept falling and falling until it became routine and every night you would dream of falling and every morning you would wake up falling. But to what extent? When would it end?

Did he want it to end? Was the torture of falling also a reassurance? A reassurance that the _thud _at the bottom of that pit wasn't going to happen after all. Because if it did happen what was left? Nothing. Nothing but emptiness.  
And which would be worse, the never ending fear of constant falling or the awful finality of landing?

* * *

He was pathetic. A fucking cliché; drowning himself in bourbon and trying not to think about what was happening to her. Every fucking day he would call and the same word would be repeated every time. _Worse._ It was always worse wasn't it? Why can't it be better? Just once! His fists clenched around the glass and he tried to banish the thoughts from his head. The kept coming back though, nagging him, haunting him. _Worse, worse, worse, worse... death._

"NO." He turned and flung the glass at the wall, feeling content as he watched the shattered pieces scatter across the wooden floor. He wanted to slap himself for thinking like that, it wasn't going to happen, it _couldn't_.

"Salvatore!" The bartender glowered at him. Damon couldn't remember his name and frankly he didn't really give a flying fuck. Let him be angry, he didn't understand. Nobody did. "Get out!" He gestured to the exit. Damon narrowed his eyebrows at the door and didn't move. "I get you're going through something dude but you're ruining my business, get the hell out and drag your sorry ass to some other place!" _Dude? Really? _The bartender's face was red now and it amused Damon. If he told him why he was drinking himself into oblivion he was sure he'd be allowed to stay. But he didn't want anyone's pity. He didn't need it. So he left, mumbling 'fuck you' as he got up.

He didn't have any trouble finding another bar. He had told Ric that he was going for a walk; he didn't need the man to be his fucking babysitter.

He ordered a scotch because he needed something stronger and resumed his position, slouched on a bar stool, hands clutching his drink like it was his lifeline. Right now, it probably was.

He missed her. His weekends now consisted of moping around his apartment or drinking until he passed out. He wasn't allowed to see her; she wasn't allowed to see him. It had been three weeks. Three fucking weeks in which she kept getting worse, kept needing different treatments and tests done on her, three weeks.

And then there was Katherine. She wouldn't leave him alone, the constant calls, the constant text messages, the constant knocks on his door. He'd had to tell his doorman not to let her in. She knew what was going on, he knew Ric had caved and told her. But now for some reason she wanted to _talk_. He didn't want to fucking talk to her after five years and he certainly wasn't going to. He didn't care about whatever the hell she had to say for herself, none of it mattered anymore.

He called to the woman behind the bar and weakly requested another drink. She eyed him sceptically,

"Sir you're already pretty drunk, do you have a designated driver? Anyone here who can take you homes safely?" Damon shook his head mutely. She sighed. "Then I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut you off." She snatched his glass from him before he could protest; the alcohol had dulled his reflexes. He snarled at her but still said nothing. Slinking off the seat he dragged himself out of the fourth bar that day, stopping on the crowded street.

He wanted to call. He couldn't go a day without calling, although it was a bit too late to call it day. He dug into his pocket until he found his phone and his fingers flew across the touch screen, dialing the number he had memorized years ago.

"_Damon_." He felt rage creeping up at the sound of that doctor's voice but he buried it down where no one, hopefully himself included would ever find it. "_You really shouldn't call every day. I don't want to keep disappointing you. We will call you if there's any news." _

How is she?" His words sounded slurred, his breathing hitched with hiccups.

"_Damon I think you know. You know we're doing all we can and you know she's getting wo-"_ No. He couldn't hear it again. He hung up the phone, familiar grief overtaking him yet again.

"FUCK!" He kicked the wall in frustration, receiving all sorts of dirty looks from stupid random people he didn't care about.

"Damon?" He whipped around, almost tripping as the alcohol rushed to his head. He groaned when he realized who it was.

"Are you fucking serious?" Elena Gilbert. _Again_. Was she stalking him or something?

"Are you okay?" She took a step towards him cautiously. He scoffed, was she scared of him? He knew she could see it, he could tell by the way she looked at him. She could see how much he was dying inside and her big brown eyes made him want to tell her everything. He wanted to shake himself out of it and tell himself to shut the fuck up but his guard was already down and he couldn't do anything to raise it.

"Do I look like I'm fucking okay?" He yelled. She didn't flinch. Instead she stepped closer to him. He tried to step back but he stumbled and she caught a hold of his arm. Electricity. He felt it, he knew she felt it. He jerked away. She cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Where's Cassie?" She was trying to change the subject. She was trying to diffuse the tension. She was trying to help. But it didn't help. He could feel the moisture in his eyes and he cursed himself as he instantly broke eye contact with her. "Damon, I-"

"Don't." It was barely a whisper but she understood perfectly.

After a few moments of silence she decided he needed to get home. When he refused to give her his address she insisted on taking him to her hotel room. Under normal circumstances he would have rudely declined but in that moment he couldn't.

* * *

The cab ride was silent. Neither of them spoke although Damon could tell Elena was bursting to. She didn't though and he was grateful for that. When they arrived she paid the driver and helped Damon out, letting him lean on her for support.

Apparently Jenna and her blonde friend whose name he couldn't remember had gone out clubbing. He didn't care. She set up a bed for him on the sofa and tried to make small talk. Everything she said went in one ear and out the other though. The alcohol had yet to wear off. He could feel that he was about to tell her everything. He wanted to stop it but he didn't know how. He took a deep breath to clear his head but he just felt more suffocated. He _had_ to get it out.

"Elena." It wasn't a question, he was demanding her to sit and listen to him. She complied.

"Yes?" She tried to prompt him.

"You asked where Cassie was." He finally turned to look at her. She nodded slowly. "She..." he swallowed the bile in his throat. "She's in the hospital." He closed his eyes but he didn't want to hear her reaction so he barreled on. "She has been for years, but it wasn't always this bad and now... now it's gotten worse and she can't come home on the weekends and I don't think she's going to-" He cut himself off there. He couldn't admit that to her. He hardly knew her. Why the hell did he just spill that? She was going to judge him, she was going to run off back to Mystic Falls and tell everyone, she was going to scared and leave him alone. He looked at her. Her face displayed shock, horror, confusion, fear. Everything he felt he could see in her.

"Why?" He whisper chilled him but he knew he owed her the full explanation. He couldn't drop that bomb on someone and run away.

"She has a brain tumor. A... a bad one that she's had for a few years and they were treating it and chemotherapy and getting better and hair falling out and now... worse. All the time, worse." He was blubbering; he didn't know what he was saying. The horror grew in her expression and instead of getting nervous and uncomfortable and leaving like Damon assumed she would have done, she slid across the sofa and wrapped her arms around him. She didn't say anything, she didn't pity him. She sat with him until the effects of drinking all day finally pulled him under and she sat with him long after that too.

* * *

**AN: I'm not sure how this chapter turned out, please review what you think, reviews are love!**


	7. When We First Met

**AN: OMFG I'M PISSED. DEAR DIARY GOT DELETED! :'( I'm so upset! HAS ANYONE EVER HAD THEIR FANFICTION ACCOUNTS HACKED? BECAUSE SOMEONE HACKED MINE AND WHEN I LOGGED BACK IN MY PROFILE HAD BEEN CHANGED, SO HAD MY USERNAME AND DEAR DIARY WAS GONE! Has this ever happened to any of you? I don't even have the story saved, I didn't have enough memory on my laptop so I deleted it because I had already uploaded it **

**Ugh. I'm so sorry to anyone who followed or favourite the story **

**Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah this is annoying. I'm still angry. Super angry. And sad :( but I still have this story... **

**I know this chapter is long overdue I'm sorry, it took a lot of editing and touching up and I wrote like five versions before I was happy with it! Anyways hope you enjoy and please review!**

* * *

_Beep. Beep. Beep. _

"What the hell?" Elena mumbled groggily, reaching for the alarm clock. Her hand only found empty space and the incessant beeping continued. She grumbled and sat up, rubbing her eyes to get a clear vision of the room. The first thing she noticed was that she was on the couch instead of the bed in her room. The second thing was that she was sitting next to a sleeping Damon Salvatore, who appeared to be shirtless. She couldn't remember him removing his shirt last night but _holy shit._ Sure she was no Caroline who was some sort of human magnet for hot guys but she still knew attractive when she saw it. Only he wasn't just attractive, he was a goddamn Adonis. His toned chest stared at her, begging her to run her hands across it, his tousled black hair desperately called for her fingers to rake through it, his slightly parted lips screamed for her to kiss them. But she refrained as the memories of last night flooded through her mind. _His daughter has cancer. His daughter has a brain tumor. His daughter could be dying and she's only five years old._ She numbly processed the information, letting it sink in. Her heart ached and she could feel moisture in her sleep shrouded eyes. Looking at him properly, knowing the pain he'd been through she remembered the first time she ever met him. God he'd grown so much, not just physically but emotionally.

* * *

"_Stefan for fucks sake could keep it down? I can't fucking hear myself think!" The door to Stefan's bedroom opened and a boy's form appeared. He was yelling things at Stefan but the second the door opened Elena disappeared into la la land. Who was this guy? This incredibly hot guy who looked no more than seventeen or eighteen? He was quite tall but not too much, the perfect height. His plain black t-shirt was tight and accentuated his toned chest and muscled arms. He had inky black hair that was tousled and looked appealing to touch, his lips were the perfect shape, thoroughly kissable and his eyes... his eyes were beautiful, deep crystal blue that made Elena freeze under his gaze. She realised that she hadn't met all of Stefan's family yet, just him and his mother._

'_God Elena,' she chastised herself, 'you're fourteen, he's a senior! You've just started high school! He's not going to look at you!'_

"_Who's this?" He nodded at her, never breaking eye contact although his question was thrown at Stefan who was busy with his radio trying to make the music quieter. _

"_This is my new friend Elena. Play nice Damon," Stefan shot Elena a wary look, "she's going through a bit of a tough time." So his name was Damon. It sounded... dangerous, thrilling. She liked it. She shook herself inconspicuously. _

"_Tough time? Um, cryptic much? Did... did somebody die?" He whispered, his face suddenly the picture of seriousness as he looked from Elena to Stefan then back at Elena who still hadn't found her voice. _

"_No! It's just a hard first breakup is all, now if you could leave us alone?" Stefan glared at Damon, raising his eyebrows and tilting his head towards Elena when he thought she wasn't looking. The sight looked slightly comical as Stefan was so much smaller than his brother. But Damon was watching the two of them with a gleam in his eye that suggested he didn't want to leave so soon. _

"_Why so you can console her?" He snorted, looking only at Stefan now. For some reason Elena felt a pang of loss which she quickly shook away because... well because it was illogical to feel such things so soon after breaking up with her middle school boyfriend Jake._

"_Yes, she's here so that I can cheer her up, not you so you can go now." Stefan pronounced every syllable, the meaning behind his words was very clear to Elena and apparently to Damon as well. _

"_Yeah, I'll just leave and let you two have sex then." He rolled his eyes and turned away, starting down the corridor. "I'll try not to be disturbed by the grunts and moans!" Elena's eyes bugged out and she opened her mouth to protest but before she could he turned back around and looked her dead in the eyes again. Stopping at the doorframe he spoke in a deep sultry voice._

"_It was divine to meet you... Elena." She shifted a little. The way he drawled out her name made her involuntarily shiver. She tried to respond but with a final smirk he departed. _

"_You don't know him because he's been ditching school, don't mind him, my brother's a dick. I bet he's not even going to graduate, we should have left him back in Colorado, he's just annoying." Stefan shook his head and continued on with the conversation. "No point in even brining him here, he only has one year of high school left." He murmured as he continued twiddling with the radio. _

_Oh she didn't mind his brother, not at all._

* * *

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

"Crap!" She had forgotten about the beeping. She looked around for the clock but realised it was coming from a phone. It wasn't hers so it must be... Damon's. She was torn. Should she answer it? _Invasion of privacy!_ The voice of reason in her head screamed. But the noise would eventually wake Damon up and he looked _so_ peaceful. To hell with it. She reached out for the phone perched on the coffee table, ready to quickly set it so silent and put it back. But then the beeping stopped and before she could put it away a voicemail started playing. It was from Alaric. She knew she should stop listening, she knew she should switch the phone off but something made her listen, call it curiosity or whatever the hell you want but she listened to it. Alaric started yelling into the phone, his voice sounded breathy and scared.

'_Holy crap Damon answer the damn phone! This is serious okay, I'm at the hospital an-and they let me see Cassie for a while you know... but-but Freedman told me she's taken a turn for the worse, they've been doing tons of chemo on her but it's not working. She's gone into some sort of child-depression thing! I don't know what it is, I don't work with kids but she won't talk to anyone except she keeps asking for you and you have to fucking hurry up and get the fuck here, NOW!'_

Then the line went dead.

* * *

When Caroline and Jenna got back to the hotel that night you could imagine their surprise. Seeing Elena draped over a half-naked Damon on the couch? Not something they would have expected. But while Jenna decided to freak out and wanted to drag Elena back to her room because apparently Damon was 'bad news', Caroline was reminded of her own and Elena's high school days when her friend was infatuated with the same guy who's naked chest she was resting on.

But Jenna was convinced Damon was no good. The whole situation intrigued Caroline. So, this morning when she woke up and saw Damon leaving after exchanging a few very serious looking words with Elena (she thought she had seen dried tears on both their faces, must've been a trick of the light) she decided to follow him. She had the right to find out about this supposed 'mystery man' who just spent the night on the couch in their hotel suite! Plus she was a naturally curious human being, she couldn't exactly help it! It was her moral duty as a best friend, what if he was some sort of a drug lord or something? It was possible!

When Elena finally retired to her own room Caroline was able to sneak past her. Thank god Damon was walking instead of driving, that could've caused an issue.

* * *

Ric hung up the phone and ran a hand through his sandy hair, heaving a sigh. Damon was on his way. He glanced at Cassie's room from the corner of his eye. He was tired.

"Ric?" He spun around, startled.

"Katherine. What the fuck do you want?" He groaned in frustration.

"Language mister, we are in the children's ward after all."

"What do you want?" Ric repeated the question, his eyes hard.

"To see her. And Damon, I know he's been avoiding me."

"You aren't seeing anyone, okay? Get out, how did you even get in!"

"Well they can't exactly refuse entrance to the mother of the child in question can they?" She thre him a satisfied smirk, picking at her cuticles. "So, uh... I think I'll just go and meet my kid then?" She tried to push past him but he stood firmly in front of the door.

"No."

She sighed dramatically. "Fine, I guess I'll just go meet Jenna, we could have a coffee or something, re-bond." She raised her eyebrows at him, "Hey, maybe that topic will come up, you know the one where you and I hook up while you two were going out? I think she'll like that one." Ric's face paled but he stood his ground.

"Jenna and I aren't even together anymore!" He shouted, "What will telling her even accomplish?"

"Sweetie I know that, but you're still in love with her aren't you? You still worship at her alter. And I know you've been meeting up with her, maybe you've gotten back together." Her attention turned back to her nail beds, a sick smile spreading across her face.

"How do you know that?" He whispered.

"I have my sources." She shrugged.

"We're not together though! We've just gone out for a drink a couple of times, we're friends Katherine. That's all."

"And I'm supposed to believe that? Do you really think that little of me?" She pouted.

"Yes actually, I-"

"Miss Pierce!" They both turned to see Doctor Freedman walking up to them. Katherine smiled.

"Yes Doctor?" She widened her eyes innocently.

"You can go in now, if you'll just move Doctor Saltzman." He looked expectantly at Alaric who stood looking between the two dumbfounded. Rolling her eyes Katherine pushed him aside and before he could collect himself the two of them disappeared behind the door.

* * *

**AN: No song lyrics this time :( I couldn't find any that fit! :p Okay.. soooo... tell me what you think! I really don't know what to write here... please review!  
**


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